1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image outputting apparatus, and more particularly to an image outputting apparatus for printing an image on a recording material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electronic still camera, an imaging device of a CCD image sensor or the like is disposed behind a taking lens. An optical subject image is formed on a photoelectric surface of the imaging device. The formed subject image is converted into a digital signal to be recorded, as image data, in a storage medium (hereinafter, memory) of a smart medium (trade name), a compact flash memory and so forth. At the same time, information concerning the image data is also recorded in the memory as additional information. This additional information includes a photographic date, a photographer, a photographic condition and so forth. Meanwhile, the image data recorded in the memory is reproduced on an LCD monitor fitted to the electronic still camera or is reproduced on a display externally connected thereto. Further, it is possible to produce a photo print from the image data, similarly to a silver photograph, by printing the image on a recording sheet with an image outputting apparatus of a photographic printer or the like.
When some users share the image outputting apparatus, it is preferable to avoid mixing up the photo prints. In view of this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-152854 discloses the image outputting apparatus in which sorting trays for sorting the photo prints every user are registered in a sorting-data table in advance. The photo print is discharged to the corresponding tray in accordance with the sorting-data table. Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-133579 discloses another image outputting apparatus in which the photo prints are discharged to the sorting trays respectively corresponding to an input place of the image data. In addition, the sorting tray of this Publication is provided with an indicating portion for showing the input place of the image data. Owing to this, it is easy to distinguish the input place of the photo print discharged to each tray.
Recently, the memory has high capacity so that a number of images to be recorded therein increases. With the increment of the recorded images, a print number also increases when the images stored in the memory are printed on recording sheets. In view of this, a standard DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) has been made and is adopted into a product for automatically printing the desired images, which are selected from the images taken with the electronic still camera, by using the image outputting apparatus. In the electronic still camera adjusted to the standard DPOF, various designated information are stored in the memory as a DPOF file, besides the image data and the additional information thereof. Incidentally, the various designated information include the desired image to be printed, a print type thereof, a print size thereof, a print number, and so forth. In accordance with the designated information stored in the DPOF file, a photo printer adjusted to the standard DPOF prints the image on the recording sheet along the image data.
However, in the image outputting apparatus such as described above, the photo prints are merely classified on the basis of the pre-registered information of the users and the input places of the image data. It is impossible to discharge the photo prints, classifying them on the basis of the additional information recorded in the memory together with the image data.